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Our Team

Our Guide Service and Summer Camp Team

Our backpacking guides and outdoor educators are the key ingredient to our success at Lasting Adventures. While we all come from different backgrounds, we all share a passion for adventure, our National Parks, and sharing experiences with others to creates memories that last a lifetime. Our guide staff is a wise and energetic group that understands the importance of professionalism, caring, and risk management. Some of our guides were once youth participants themselves before growing into their present roles, while others have been selected for the backgrounds and experiences they have with youth and within the outdoor environment. Many of our outdoor educators carry off-season jobs as teachers, naturalists, counselors, or other youth-focused professions, and many of us live in the Sierra Nevada. On most trips, you will have the pleasure of getting to know multiple guides!

Prior to each backpacking season our guides come together for a week-long staff training to prepare and refresh their skills. We have fun covering serious practices, playing games and reviewing protocols—essentially using the same Adventure Based Programming model we facilitate on our youth, group, school, and corporate adventures. We’re more than coworkers—we’re a team—and we work hard, live, and adventure together all summer!

On every youth trip there is a guide-participant ratio of at most 1:6, but in most cases the ratio is 1:5 or lower. Each trip will also typically have at least one male and one female outdoor educator. (Except for our all-female Young Women’s Adventure Programs which will have two of our dynamic female staff.)

For our guide service, day trips, and backpacking trips, we staff each adventure with 1 or 2 veteran guides who bring with them significant backcountry experience. Ratios do not exceed 1:6; and are often 1:5 or lower is more common.

Each of our team members holds current Wilderness First Responder and CPR certifications and has passed an extensive background check, including a criminal history report. Furthermore, our guides are selected for being outstanding backcountry specialists, and of course, extremely fun to hang out with!

Looking to join our team? Check out our Employment Page

Join Us For Staff Training!

Administrative Staff

Scott

Founder/Executive Director

Scott is the Founder and Executive Director for Lasting Adventures, Inc and has been facilitating the Yosemite High Country Adventure since 1997 in which he has personally logged over 5,000 miles as a guide and instructor in the Yosemite backcountry. As both a credentialed school administrator and counselor, Scott has well over 30 years of experience working with youth. Scott attended Sonoma State University in California where he obtained both his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Masters in Counseling. Scott holds certification in Basic Backpacking Awareness, is certified as a Wilderness First Responder by the Wilderness Medicine Institute of the National Outdoor Leadership School, and he is trained as an Outdoor Emergency Care professional. In addition to actively instructing and guiding the Yosemite High Country Adventure and through community collaborations and support, Scott has also successfully developed many other youth development programs; and he is also a requested presenter on these topics. When not in Yosemite, you might be able to catch Scott on the slopes snowboarding in Tahoe.

Will

Operations Director & Guide

Will started his outdoor education in Appalachia, found his passion for adventure in the Rockies, and found his home in the Sierra Nevada. Thanks to parents that booked campsites instead of hotel rooms to save on travel expenses, he is quite comfortable laying his head close to the ground to sleep. Using the forests behind his house as an escape and proving grounds, he learned the outdoor survival skills that have given him the confidence to leave behind civilization and live in the wilderness. Will began camping as a child, backpacking as a teenager, climbing/canyoneering in college, and mountain biking since working for Lasting Adventures. Graduating with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation, he lived and worked near Zion National Park as a therapist for a year before finding that he yearned to spend more time in the wild. So he left behind the 9 to 5 and went full time into guiding with Lasting Adventures during the summer of 2015. Will loves being a guide because it affords him the opportunity to invite others to share in the experiences that have given him the hope to carry on through difficult times. When your life is simple enough to fit all necessary possessions in a backpack, you have plenty of room left to fill yourself with happiness and adventure. He now finds joy in teaching those same skills to his life partner and two daughters.

Kara

Marketing Manager & Guide

Kara grew up in a small town of Beaver, PA and loved spending every waking moment in the outdoors as a child. Once she was taken on her first backpacking trip in Yosemite National Park, Kara was hooked and eventually decided to change her career from the Fashion Industry to the Outdoors and that was the best decision she ever made. Kara then took an Outdoor Educator course with NOLS in the great Wind River Range for backpacking and rock climbing, got her Wilderness First Responder certification, and has since taken kids out into the outdoors from the White Mountains in New Hampshire to the desert in Joshua Tree National Park and challenged them in activities that include backpacking, rock climbing, white water kayaking and canoeing.

In her free time Kara loves going canyoneering, backpacking, trail running, researching new cheesy jokes, cooking and eating lots of yummy food, climbing multi-pitch routes in Red Rocks, road tripping, playing lots ‘o’ board games, writing for her blog, star-gazing, chasing rainbows and ultimately lounging in her hammock.

Kara believes in the philosophy that you should never stop learning and is very much looking forward to learning even more about Yosemite, where she got first bitten by the outdoors bug, and sharing that knowledge with all the participants on Lasting Adventures trips!

Hannah

Olympic Site Manager & Guide

A Wisconsin native, Hannah found her passion for the outdoors through backpacking with her student-run outdoor recreation club in college. In 2020, she relocated to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula to pursue a career and lifestyle in the outdoor industry. She is a Wilderness EMT and Leave No Trace Master Educator and, aside from her four seasons at Lasting Adventures, has worked as a ski patroller, mountaineering instructor, outdoor gear retailer, and wilderness therapy guide. Hannah is passionate and knowledgeable about the ecosystem, history and geography of the Olympic mountains and she has enjoyed building her career and community on this unique and beautiful peninsula. 

Mikayla

Yosemite Program Manager & Guide

Mikayla grew up in a small town in North Carolina where she could be found anywhere except indoors. Initially following her passion for learning, Mikayla moved to Colorado to complete multiple undergraduate degrees in archeology, physiology, and psychology. However in her free time, Mikayla was drawn to the mountains. Spending her weekends backpacking, afternoons by the creek, or skiing fresh powder. The outdoors has always brought Mikayla the most joy in her life, including her wife whom she met working with a kids adventure company. On any given day you can find Mikayla and her two dogs exploring the local trails and searching for sunshine.

Outdoor Educators and Guide Staff

Dyson

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Dyson grew up exploring the Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains, where he gained a passion for learning and spending time in nature. He got his first taste of backpacking in the Trinity Alps, leading him to become an outdoor guide for George Washington University. As an undergraduate he earned a degree in Creative Writing and English and led backpacking and hiking trips all around Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. He enjoys reading, writing, hiking, paddling, snowboarding and observing wildlife. With a deep love for the community and adventure found on backpacking trips and a passion for sharing the natural and human history of Yosemite, Dyson is excited for his fifth year with Lasting Adventures!

Anna

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Anna grew up hiking and canoeing in Washington state. She found her passion for the outdoors at a young age, exploring many of the wonderful trails around Mount Rainier. Anna recently completed her degree in Hydrology and has a passion for water conservation. Her love of exploring new places has led her to hike in National Parks in ND, SD, AZ, UT, CA, MT, OR, and Alaska. With so many great hiking trails, winters in Washington led to cross-country and downhill skiing.  She has hiked the Wonderland Trail as well as the PCT through Washington and Oregon. Anna spends her winter time as both a scuba diving instructor and ski instructor. This is her third season at Lasting Adventures, and she is very excited to share it with you. 

Matthew

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Matt is an outdoor educator and guide who loves working in the outdoors. He graduated with a degree in Outdoor/Adventure Education in 2019 and has since been traveling, teaching, climbing, and exploring all over the country. Matt enjoys spending his time rock climbing and on remote adventures, especially around Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. He is also very passionate about education. In addition to showing people how much fun the mountains can be, Matt works hard to teach people about the amazing natural wonders of our planet, and the importance of protecting wild places. Matt is really looking forward to his ninth year working with Lasting Adventures.

Rowan

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Rowan grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas where they spent their summers hiking, swimming, and wakeboarding. Rowan continued to cultivate their passion for the outdoors while enrolled at Colorado College, where they graduated with a degree in Film and a minor in Music. Rowan has backpacked all over the country and even abroad in Iceland. Rowan is passionate about recreating in nature and working with queer youth. When not backpacking, Rowan enjoys writing, photography, and playing their guitar. They couldn’t be more excited to spend their second summer with Lasting Adventures! 

John

Guide & Outdoor Educator

John grew up in Denver, CO, and spent much of his childhood and adolescence backpacking and camping in the nearby Rockies, where he fostered a love for the mountains. Right after high school, John began rock climbing and, through this new passion, found a deeper connection to the outdoors and nature and a more significant appreciation for community. He has since spent a lot of time exploring the country, from remote rock climbing trips in Wyoming’s Wind River Range to canyoneering adventures in Southeastern Utah. After spending years developing this passion, John is excited to share it with others and is eager to introduce people to the value of being outside.

This will be John’s fifth year with Lasting Adventures, and he is excited to continue to grow his passion for outdoor education this season!

Jack

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Jack Curran is a Wilderness educator from Prescott, Arizona. Spending his free time rock climbing, hiking, and creating art, Jack has developed an intense love for natural spaces. Bringing an eclectic and spunky attitude of care and compassion to his work as an educator, he can’t imagine a better way to share his passion for the world than guiding Lasting Adventures!

Maddie

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Maddie grew up in Northern California immersed in nature and has always felt most at home in the outdoors. She has been living and frolicking on the central coast of California for the last four years and recently received her degree in Environmental Management and Protection from Cal Poly SLO. Maddie loves to spend her time learning new things, running with friends, botanizing, and settling into a good book. She spent last summer backpacking through Yosemite’s beautiful High Country surveying alpine plants and is stoked to return to the park and share her love and knowledge of its natural wonders. 

Maggie

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Maggie grew up in Eugene, Oregon, where she found her connection to the earth while exploring the forests and mountains of the Oregon Cascades. She found an amazing community in the outdoor program at her high school, where they hiked, rock climbed and adventured in the rain together. Maggie now lives in San Luis Obispo, California where she graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Environmental Earth and Soil Science. Her life includes a lot of yoga, hiking, farmers markets and ocean time. She spent a summer river guiding on the Salmon River in Idaho, and then decided to take her passion for guiding to the mountains, where she fell in love with the Sierras. This will be her second summer in Yosemite!

Isaac

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Isaac learned to love playing in the outdoors from a young age, adventuring around campgrounds and beaches with his brothers in Oregon. As a teenager, Isaac backpacked and rock-climbed his way up and down the West Coast with his pals, developing an appreciation for things like moss, rocks, and cowboy coffee. Nowadays, Isaac is a recent graduate of Pitzer College, where he earned his bachelor’s in Environmental Science and Spanish, and was also an outdoors guide. He likes to run on trails, eat lots of chicken and rice, and learn campfire tunes on the spoons. Isaac is deeply passionate about sharing his love and knowledge of the outdoors with others, and he can’t wait to spend the summer guiding in Yosemite with Lasting Adventures!

Zuzanna

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Zuzanna grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. Having spent many summers visiting family in the beautiful countryside of Poland, she found her love for travel and backpacking through trips to the mountains. Zuzanna’s major hobbies include climbing, hiking, yoga, painting, and cooking (/eating). Since completing her bachelor’s in conservation at UMass Amherst, Zuzanna’s dream is to work as an Environmental educator and artist, fostering resilient communities and creatively exploring the natural world. She’s shared her love of the outdoors as a hiking leader for her school’s Outing Club and as an educator in the Mt. Hood National Forest. She’s excited to spend her second summer at Lasting Adventures, frolicking around Yosemite Valley and making new friends.

Haley

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Haley grew up in North Carolina, and developed a love for the outdoors exploring the Appalachian mountains whether camping, hiking, backpacking, or just soaking in the great views. She attended University of North Carolina Wilmington to study Sociology where she got the chance to explore the coastal region and fell in love with leading kayaking and backpacking trips and making a lasting impact on people’s relationship to nature. She believes the outdoors are for everyone and is excited to spread her love of adventure through Lasting Adventures!

Sarah

Guide & Outdoor Educator

Sarah has been leading various hiking, camping, and backpacking trips since 2020 and is a big advocate of encouraging inclusivity in nature. She loves teaching people the skills and confidence they need to survive and explore on their own in the great outdoors. She has organized and led trips all over California and the Southwestern United States.

Sarah spends most of her time in Yosemite National Park sharing the natural beauty of this incredible wilderness with others. She is very passionate about sharing a love and appreciation of nature with people of all backgrounds.

Trips by Destination

Trips by Type

Camping Programs
Lodge-Based Programs